Aftermath
by burkudzauta
Summary: The evolution of Ross and Kitty's relationship, in the wake of Tommy Barrett's hanging.


**\- Night -**

Katherine was already in bed when Ross returned to his tent some hours later. After the events at Tommy Barrett's hanging, she had had no stomach for work of any sort, and seeing as she was now the major's woman, she doubted anyone would protest. Still, she could not quell the feelings of guilt—it wasn't in her nature to spend all day lounging about, and it wasn't fair to the other convicts. Especially the other women, like Elizabeth, who would need a sympathetic ear now more than ever.

She'd tried to sleep—something that should have been far easier in the major's fine cotton sheets and blankets than in her own straw-stuffed bunk—but it had eluded her. Instead she spent the next few hours staring blankly at the far wall of the tent.

She hated the way she flinched at the sound of the tent flaps opening—a habit she'd just recently shaken, but that had now returned. As the major busied himself removing his jacket and accoutrements, she closed her eyes and attempted to portray the façade of sleep.

She felt the other half of the bed shift as the he lay down beside her, felt the heat of his body at her back. She knew he was watching her, probably debating whether or not to touch her. But for once, he said nothing. In fact, there was total silence for a good five minutes before he finally spoke: "I know you're awake."

Katherine said nothing.

A sigh. "I don't blame you if—if you don't want to talk to me right now. If—if you want to leave, I understand."

Katherine squeezed her eyes shut.

"On second thought, maybe _I_ will leave," he decided. The bed creaked as his weight vanished, and she heard him slipping on his coat and buckling on his saber once more. As he exited the tent, a single tear escaped her, and slid listlessly down her cheek.

 **\- Morning-**

Katherine rose before sunrise, having failed to shake her old habits. The major still had not returned, and now a new guilt set her stomach churning. The way she'd acted last night-it had done their budding relationship no good, her being so standoff-ish. And he had warned her, had he not?

 _I might have to act ruthlessly. If so, I want you to remember it is my duty to act ruthlessly, not my nature._

Unable to sort through the thoughts in her head, and longing for something to do, she located the major's rations and set about making the best breakfast she could out of rice and beans. She was just ladling the steaming fare onto a pewter plate when the tent flaps opened to admit the major himself.

He stopped in the doorway and appraised the scene before him. "Stealing my food now, are you?" he said flatly.

"I was making you breakfast," she said, offering him the plate. "If you're not too tired."

"Thank you," he said, sitting down heavily in one of the two chairs at the small parlor table which served as a dining area. This time, he didn't bother to take off his uniform.

Katherine took the chair opposite. Producing the small statue of the Virgin Mary from her pocket, she fiddled with it as she watched him eat. A few strands of dark hair had escaped from his queue and hung limply in his face, and there were dark bags under his eyes.

"Where did you go last night?" she asked.

"I relieved Sergeant Timmins of guard duty. God knows the man has earned it."

"I'm sorry," she said. "About last night."

He shook his head. "Don't trouble yourself."

"It wasn't fair," she said. "You warned me."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"You scared me," she said at last.

The major paused, fork midway to his mouth. Slowly lowering it back to the plate, he said, "Then I am sorry."

She nodded, still looking at the Virgin Mary.

"That was why I did not want you to attend," he added.

She nodded again, and continued to fiddle with the small wooden figure, passing it between her hands. The rest of the meal passed in silence, unbroken except for the sound of Ross's fork scraping the plate.

After he'd finished, Ross stripped down to his undergarments and collapsed into bed, his dark hair fanning across the pillow. "I could get used to...domesticity," he said, watching her with half-closed eyes and a lazy smile as she cleared the table and scrubbed the plate clean.

"Well don't get too used to it," she warned. "I have other duties to attend to."

He raised his head off the pillow. "You're going back to work today?"

"I have to."

"I'd rather you not."

"No, you want me to be a gentlewoman," Katherine said, tying on her apron and shouldering the large burlap sack she used to collect laundry. "Who does nothing but sit around all day looking pretty. That's not me, Ross, it will never be me."

"Some may wish you harm because of our relationship."

"I'll be careful."

"I think you should have an escort."

"Like poor James Freeman? Then I _will_ be hated."

Ross sighed and closed his eyes. "God Almighty, woman, how you test me."

She walked over to the bed and leaned down to kiss him. "But you love me," she said. "And I love you."


End file.
